David Cameron: I was paid far more at Greensill than as PM - BBC News

David Cameron has said he was paid "far more" as a part-time adviser to now-collapsed Greensill Capital than when he was prime minister.

He told MPs he had a "big economic investment" in the finance company, including shares.

But he insisted he was not motivated by money when he lobbied ministers on behalf of the firm - and he believed he was acting in the national interest.

Mr Cameron was paid £150,402 a year when he quit as PM in 2016.

The former prime minister is giving evidence via video link to a Public Accounts Committee inquiry launched after Greensill's collapse in March.

Speaking earlier to MPs on the Treasury Select Committee, he repeatedly declined to reveal his exact pay at the firm, calling it a "private matter".

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He told the committee he had not broken any rules when he tried to influence ministers and officials on behalf of Greensill Capital last spring.

He said it had been "appropriate" for him to call and text ministers and officials directly, as schemes were being designed quickly at a "time of extraordinary crisis".

But he conceded that in future "prime ministers should only ever use letter or email, and should restrict themselves far more".

And he backed a tightening up on the rules on ministers and officials who take jobs in industry.

'Great regret'

Mr Cameron has said he began working as a "part-time senior adviser" to Greensill Capital in August 2018, just over two years after he left Downing Street aged 49.

"I was paid an annual amount, a generous annual amount, far more than what I earned as prime minister, and I had shares - not share options but shares in the business - which vested over the period of time of my contract," he told the committee.

He described reports he was set to make £60m from Greensill as "completely absurd".

He said the demise Greensill Capital was a "great regret" to him, and there were "important lessons to be learned" from its collapse.

He added he had conducted "quite a lot of due diligence" before taking up the role, including asking questions about "every aspect of the business".

What is lobbying?

• It's another word for trying to persuade the government to change its policies
• It can be done by individuals, companies, organisations and charities who contact ministers, backbench MPs and other politicians
• Some organisations and companies employ professional lobbyists to make their case for them
• Former MPs and civil servants often work as lobbyists

"I had a big economic investment in the future of Greensill, so I wanted the business to succeed, I wanted it to grow," he told MPs.

He said his economic interest in the firm was "important" but was not relevant to the MPs' inquiry into the firm's collapse and its contacts with government.

And he said he felt the firm's proposals would help small businesses access cash during an economic crisis, and were "absolutely in the public interest".

The former PM had repeatedly texted ministers and officials, including Chancellor Rishi Sunak, asking for the firm to be included in a Covid-related government loan scheme.

But his attempts to involve Greensill in the Covid Corporate Financing Facility (CCFF) were ultimately unsuccessful after they were rebuffed by the Treasury.

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2021-05-13 17:16:06Z
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